E30 Zone

I came across this photo on another site and reallt like the look of the head lights. Are they stnadard with a different bulb or an aftermarket unit?

probably HID's.

Kits on Ebay for about £40

I've got hids in one of my e30s and they don't look like that. Could they be projector headlights with hids?

you can only fit hids into projector headlights in either smilies or the early facelift ellipsoid as standard reflectors on the pre feacelift dont show the right pattern

kitch wrote:I've got hids in one of my e30s and they don't look like that. Could they be projector headlights with hids?

All HID's don't look the same, you have different colour temperatures and different wattages.

they look like bulls eye lights, from the earlier e30's

They look like the kind of headlamps that would completely wind me up if i were the car infront of that car, or heading past it in the other direction.... HID's with no beam pattern!!!!

Got his fogs on also....... Thats the kind of driver that gives BMW owners a bad reputation.

EDITED: Maybe i was a bit harsh regards the fog lights if they were on for a photoshoot. BUT these HID aftermarket headlamps and people running around with fog lamps on really is a pet hate of mine.

Bulls Eyes where fitted for 1 year of production, from the sept 87 facelift until about sept 88
and can be fitted with HIDS.
I would say the lights in the pic are almost certainly Bulls Eyes.

Bulls eye lights, smoked with HIDs

I need them on my car haha. Thanks for the info folks.

Get a pair of bulleye lights and send them to "Rav335uk" on here and he will smoke the for u and fit the main beam crosshair to replicate that look. I had a set done by him and they look great. Give him a PM

Ajsingh wrote:Get a pair of bulleye lights and send them to "Rav335uk" on here and he will smoke the for u and fit the main beam crosshair to replicate that look. I had a set done by him and they look great.

For some values of "great".

Ben

i think thats what are on mine then

richard300 wrote:They look like the kind of headlamps that would completely wind me up if i were the car infront of that car, or heading past it in the other direction.... HID's with no beam pattern!!!!

Got his fogs on also....... Thats the kind of driver that gives BMW owners a bad reputation.

EDITED: Maybe i was a bit harsh regards the fog lights if they were on for a photoshoot. BUT these HID aftermarket headlamps and people running around with fog lamps on really is a pet hate of mine.

just to clear this up, bullseyes are the ONLY type of headlamp that people should be running HID's with.. I am running this setup and mine passed it's MOT a couple of weeks back.. my beam pattern is still intact and they are only 5000k and so white, rather than blue..
any other type of headlamps (smilies etc) lose the beam pattern with HID's and you fail.. as well as possibly getting knocked out by an angry driver in front of you at night... they also look pants..

smilieys are also fine with hids. the smile cutout doesnt let enough light through to disrupt the beam, and the projector part of the light is exactly the same as on the bullseye lights.

i've had both types on mine (with the same hid kit) and both have given a perfectly cutoff beam and passed (strict) mots without a mention.

fair enough.. I was told by many people that smilies were to be avoided with HID's..

Tom_Maverick wrote:fair enough.. I was told by many people that smilies were to be avoided with HID's..

Definitely not! The 'smiley' just lets some light through from the bulb, bypassing the lens, to illuminate the ground immediately in front of the car, where the bull's eyes leave a shadow. The cut off point of this light is far to low to cause any dazzle.

Re the illuminated foglamps in the pic. The car's showing German plates, and possibly daytime foglamps aren't prohibited there. Anyone know for sure?

I don't know about Germany but it's a BIG fine here for running fog lights when conditions don't warrant it.

Cloggy Saint wrote:I don't know about Germany but it's a BIG fine here for running fog lights when conditions don't warrant it.

i wish they'd introduce it here.

and ban those cars which illuminate one foglight when cornering at low speed.

yes, mercedes, vw, seat etc i'm looking at you!

I know we call them dog lights but aren't they described as driving lights by BMW so shouldn't be fined if used when there's no dog

jonny323i wrote:I know we call them dog lights but aren't they described as driving lights by BMW so shouldn't be fined if used when there's no dog

Definitely not! They are referred to as fog lights, and are far too close to the ground to come within the legal definition of driving lights. The only E30 lights that meet this definition are the ones where the outer headlamps run at half power when the lighting switch is in the first position and the ignition on.

Brianmoooore wrote:

Tom_Maverick wrote:fair enough.. I was told by many people that smilies were to be avoided with HID's..

Definitely not! The 'smiley' just lets some light through from the bulb, bypassing the lens, to illuminate the ground immediately in front of the car, where the bull's eyes leave a shadow. The cut off point of this light is far to low to cause any dazzle.

Re the illuminated foglamps in the pic. The car's showing German plates, and possibly daytime foglamps aren't prohibited there. Anyone know for sure?

I seee! (having not owned smilies I wouldn't know) thanks for clearing that up!

although nothing can beat the ageing civic I see on the way to work with what must be 10,000k HID's in it (purple!) and no beam pattern at all! it's like driving in front of two floodlights on a shopping trolley... wait.. did I say 'like'?..

gooner1 wrote:Bulls Eyes where fitted for 1 year of production, from the sept 87 facelift until about sept 88
and can be fitted with HIDS.
I would say the lights in the pic are almost certainly Bulls Eyes.

Perhaps true for UK but not in other places, my 1992 cab had bullseye as does my 90 sport, and just about every other e30/32/34 in my region. In fact smileys are very rare irregardless if the lights are hella or Bosch.

harry_p wrote:

Cloggy Saint wrote:I don't know about Germany but it's a BIG fine here for running fog lights when conditions don't warrant it.

i wish they'd introduce it here.

They have, but only £30 Fine

richard300 wrote:They look like the kind of headlamps that would completely wind me up if i were the car infront of that car, or heading past it in the other direction.... HID's with no beam pattern!!!!

Got his fogs on also....... Thats the kind of driver that gives BMW owners a bad reputation.

EDITED: Maybe i was a bit harsh regards the fog lights if they were on for a photoshoot. BUT these HID aftermarket headlamps and people running around with fog lamps on really is a pet hate of mine.

Agreed on fogs/driving lights, but before u jump down the neck of e30 drivers with hid's, u should look at newer needs, 4x4's and all the people who dont have correct lights, for hid's

BenHar wrote:

Ajsingh wrote:Get a pair of bulleye lights and send them to "Rav335uk" on here and he will smoke the for u and fit the main beam crosshair to replicate that look. I had a set done by him and they look great.

For some values of "great".

Ben

Something or someone rattle your cage ?

An E30 with HIDs fitted to facelift lights that are correctly adjusted should cause no more discomfort to oncoming drivers at night than the standard E30 lights.
The main problems with HIDs are aftermarket kits fitted to inferior makes with reflector type headlamps, whether adjusted correctly or not, new cars that left the factory with lamps randomly pointing to wherever (What's a PDI?), and things like Range Rovers, with lights mounted about four feet from the ground.

harry_p wrote:and ban those cars which illuminate one foglight when cornering at low speed.

yes, mercedes, vw, seat etc i'm looking at you!

Is that an actual design feature?

That's a guy from my old home town Naples, Florida. There are no laws in the state that prohibit the use of running fog lights in inappropriate conditions. Nobody even bats an eyelid at that sort of thing...

TouringMatt wrote:

harry_p wrote:and ban those cars which illuminate one foglight when cornering at low speed.

yes, mercedes, vw, seat etc i'm looking at you!

Is that an actual design feature?

My old soarer had the mot tester pulling his hair out trying to find the switch, on the soarer, when the lights are on , switching the indicators on, would light up that side driving light, they called them turning assist lights

I can confirm pretty much everything Brian has said is spot on, its something i feel link i'm repeating to people on a weekly basis atm.

on the subject of lit fog lamps though i personally dont think its much of a problem unless the lamps are so bright that other people cant see, which seems to be the prevailing case now.

i have bullseye lights on the touring and much prefer the look to the smiley with the cut out, to me the cut out looks odd but i would quite like to get the effect the cut out gives.
I had considered putting a secondary lesser lamp (im thinking side light intensity) into the fog lights and/or the mains to give the same effect but don't really want to go fitting a pig magnet to my car if its going to mean being pulled over all the time.
Not really sure there is a way around it without going for smilies or adding extra lamps.

if its only a measurement from the ground that determines whether its a headlight or fog light then how do all these new cars get away with led day lights which seem to be more dazzling than any fog light i have ever seen

Brianmoooore wrote:An E30 with HIDs fitted to facelift lights that are correctly adjusted should cause no more discomfort to oncoming drivers at night than the standard E30 lights.
The main problems with HIDs are aftermarket kits fitted to inferior makes with reflector type headlamps, whether adjusted correctly or not, new cars that left the factory with lamps randomly pointing to wherever (What's a PDI?), and things like Range Rovers, with lights mounted about four feet from the ground.

My HIDs are angled low, within spec, but low. And have been told they cause no discomfort.